Dust
by Mitochondria Archer
Summary: When Adrien discovers that Hawkmoth has been hiding in plain sight all this time, something snaps inside of him. Ignoring all logic, he makes his way to his own home, ready to confront the demon that lives within those walls. But will he be ready to face the consequences when his actions bring him, and all of Paris, to their knees? (Warning: Character death.)


Shrapnel and rubble covered the landscape, and ash floated through the air of the once beautiful city. Stains of red could be seen throughout the wreckage, painting a picture of the horrors that had occurred only hours before. The sound of church bells chiming on the hour could still be heard ringing in the distance, their melodies more of a disjointed cry than any form of song.

There, buried beneath some of the debris, was a blonde boy, seemingly alone as he cried. His body was broken and twisted in ways that no one should ever be, and even the sobs that he choked out of his throat were painful to him as the energy slowly drained out of his limbs.

This was the end. Each tear that the boy shed gave testament to the misery that surrounded him, and as he lay on what was sure to be his deathbed, he couldn't help but wonder how things might have been different.

 _If only I hadn't been so stupid…_ he thought to himself. _If I had just listened, then my lady… m-my Marinette… she wouldn't have…_

He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought as an image of what had become of his partner flashed before his eyes, the sight striking him through the heart just as he had done to her.

He had been so stupid…

Anguish filled his veins as he recalled how he had run off with no warning when he found out the identity of his enemy, Hawkmoth. A blinding rage had engulfed him, and he acted without thinking. Coming to the house he had been imprisoned in all of his life, he had discovered the secret attic where his father had always withdrawn to. With no clear plan or thought in his head, he had charged into the room and froze when he saw it…

 _The man stood in front of him with his back to the hero, his purple suit absorbing the pale light that filtered in from the butterfly-shaped window. The butterflies that fluttered around the man seemed to mock their new audience as their master spoke._

 _"Welcome home…" The man turned, allowing his transformation to drop. "Adrien."_

 _Stuttering, the blonde spoke in a whisper, with betrayal written across his face. "H-How could you, father? Or s-should I even call you that?"_

 _The man stepped out of the shadows, his hands clasped in front of him in the perfect image of business, to reveal none other than Gabriel Agreste. Spreading his arms as if expecting a hug from his forlorn offspring, he said, "Oh, come now, Adrien," A slightly maniacal grin spread across his face as he continued, "Can't you see I'm doing all of this for you?"_

 _A shiver ran down Adrien's spine. "W-What do you mean?" he barely whispered, fearing what would come next._

 _Taking a few bold steps toward the boy who was still paralyzed from shock and fear, the designer rested his hands on his son's shoulders - a touch that, in any other case, Adrien might have craved. There had been a time when he had wished that his father would look him in the eye as he was doing at that moment, yet now every muscle in his body was aching to burst into a run. Anything to get him away from the madman that stood before him would have been welcomed in that instant as the two stood locked in place, but no such help came._

 _The grin spread even farther across his father's face (if that were even possible), and a sort of desperate look crept into his eyes. "Join me, Adrien. Help me fight Ladybug and Chat Noir, and we can get your mother back. My wife… I could get my wife back. Help me, Adrien. We can save her, together, and you'll get to live the happy life you always wanted." Lifting his son's chin up to force the boy to look into his face, he added, "Don't you want that? To have your mother back?"_

 _Adrien's brain froze for a moment as the realization hit him. His father had wanted the two miraculous not because of selfish desire, but because he wished to complete their family once more. This was something that he hadn't expected. He thought that all his father ever cared about was his business, but was that really true?_

 _Gabriel had chosen a bad time to continue. "Of course, we'd have to make something up to excuse her sudden reappearance to the press, and we'll need to retake most of your newer shots- after all, everyone will want to see you posing with your mother after such an extraordinary miracle… And we'll likely have to pull you out of school for a bit…"_

 _Hearing this, Adrien finally found the energy to jolt out of his father's grasp. "What do you mean, pull me out of school? Why can't I stay? I don't want to not be able to see my friends."_

 _Gabriel sighed. "Come now, Adrien, do you really think that there will be time for those imbeciles once we have gotten your mother back? After all, that's just the beginning. With the power of both of the miraculous jewels, we could take over all of Paris! We could rule the world! Think of it, Adrien! What need would you have for friends when you could have anything you ever wanted, with just a flick of your wrist, a single snap of your fingers? We could be invincible!"_

 _Adrien bit his lip, seeing what his father's true intentions were. Gathering his courage, he stepped away and looked towards the tile floor. Clenching his fists, he muttered in disbelief, "I can't believe you could be so blind…" His head snapped up to glare at his father, and at that moment he lost all self-control. "Can't you see she wouldn't want this?! You should be ashamed of yourself! Plagg, claws out!"_

 _At the speed of light, Adrien transformed into his alter ego, the very cat-like superhero that his father had been trying to track down all this time, and lunged. In one swift motion of his staff, he had knocked the man down before he could even process what he was seeing and pinned him to the ground._

 _"Y-You!" the man managed to splutter out, trying to regain his breath as he stared wildly at the boy he had thought he'd known. A glare hardened onto his face, and shouted, "You're no son of mine! Nooroo, dark wings, rise!"_

 _With that, a flurry of butterflies surrounded the duo, encasing Mr. Agreste and then moments later flying away to reveal the purple suit of Hawkmoth once more._

 _Wedging his cane underneath the silver staff that held him down, Hawkmoth managed to push the staff up off of his chest enough for him to roll away from the cat hero. Picking himself up off the ground in a manner that practically screamed that he was doing his best to retain what little dignity he had left, the villain glowered at his son._

 _"I should've known," the man fiercely growled. "I should've known that those people were bad influences to you! I never should've let you go to school! To think, that my own son would turn on me like this!" A little chuckle escaped his throat as he continued, saying, "Well, if that's how it's going to be, Adrien, then so be it. I'll fight you. I'll destroy you and everyone you love until there's no one left in this forsaken city, and then you'll see the true power of one who holds both the miraculous jewels of destruction and creation!"_

 _"You'll never get my miraculous," Chat replied, his voice shaking with anger._

 _"Oh, really?" Hawkmoth laughed. "We'll see about that!"_

 _What Chat hadn't noticed was a single, black butterfly that slowly made its way towards him…_

And from there, it had all gone black.

Chat couldn't remember what he'd done. He didn't want to. But what he did know was that when he had finally snapped out of it, his lady had been in front of him. Her breath had mingled with his and he had felt he was in heaven - until suddenly she crumpled to the floor and he knew this wasn't heaven, but hell. And straight through her heart was the very staff that he had fought with for so many years now.

As he had fallen to his knees, he knew this was his fault. She died trying to save him. He remembered all too well how he had watched in horror as the girl he loved transformed into the other girl who had stolen his heart, although he had never allowed himself to admit it, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He hadn't loved two different people, but one beautiful, fun-loving, kind-hearted girl, who was brave enough to stand up for what was right, no matter the odds.

And he only had himself to blame as she had said in barely a whisper, "I love you, kitty," before her light was extinguished completely.

Now, he deserved to die. As he lay under the rubble of the crumbling building, he didn't struggle, nor did he try to save his breath. He didn't care anymore if he lived. His family, his friends, his love… it was all gone.

A fifth and final beep softly emanated from the ring on his finger, and in a flash of green light, he detransformed into Adrien Agreste for the last time. The kwami that had served as both his friend, mentor, and guide flew up to look at the boy's face, and an untellable sorrow shone in the small creature's eyes.

"Plagg…" Adrien mumbled. "I-" A cough wracked his body before he could continue. "I n-never stood a chance, did I?"

Plagg bowed his head for a moment and sighed, unable to look his holder in the eye. "That's the sad part, kid- you did once."

 **Dear reader,**

 **Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, it means a lot to me!**

 **I apologize for how depressing this is - I honestly had not intended for my first fanfiction upload to be anything so dark, it just sort of came out one day. Hopefully I'll be uploading some more lighthearted fics in the near future, though!**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to leave me suggestions on how to improve my writing. I'm always open to new ideas!**

 **Thank you again,  
** **~Archer ^^**


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